Indianapolis doesn’t have a Trader Vic’s, but it does have a Trader Ric’s!
The basement in the MCM home of Matt McElfresh and Ric Mills used to be their EBay warehouse, until they acquired “the mural”. This beautiful mural originally hung in the men’s bar at the historic Claypool Hotel and it was the inspiration for Matt and Ric to build their home tiki bar. Matt named the bar after Ric, calling it Trader Ric’s, and the rest is history! Here is Matt and Ric’s story …
What is the tiki scene like in Indianapolis?
Matt- I think we’re doing well in Indy, considering we’re smack-dab in the Midwest. We now have the Inferno Room in Indy; there’s often special events there (lectures and rum tastings) that bring folks together more frequently. There’s also the yearly event the Indy FOM puts on: Makahiki-Night of Tiki. We’ve met a lot of great and close friends through local tiki events.
What brought you into the ‘Tiki lifestyle” and how long has it been part of your life?
Matt- We didn’t get into Tiki until starting in maybe ’09. Shortly after purchasing our mid-century-modern home here in Indianapolis; tiki became an extension of mid-century for us. We started collecting mugs, making drinks, and visiting bars. But in retrospect, the seed for my interest, in both things, was planted long ago. It was about ’95 or ’96, when I stumbled across the Combustible Edison I-Swinger album. The owner of the local record store where I grew up was notorious for trying to push music on you; normally something lame that you could have cared less about. I was probably in there buying whatever punk album was cool at the time (probably something on FAT, Ha!) and he slid the Combustible Edison cd across the counter, uttering his typical “Man, you should check this out”. It was the only time I actually bought into his ploy and I’m glad I did. That led me to the Secret Agent S.O.U.N.D.S album and so on into discovering Esquivel, and then Exotica. Anyways, result of that, Tiki was something I liked for a long time, it was just dormant and I didn’t immerse myself into it until later.
Ric- We really got deeper into Tiki after vacationing in Palm Springs on Mid-Century pilgrimages and visiting a lot of the bars there. We were hooked!
Can you give a little history of how Trader Ric’s came together?
Matt- Well, bottles and mugs filled our living room credenza and adjacent closet beyond capacity. That was at least some of the motivation; we were out of room! We really wanted to have our own home bar for some years after being inspired by the home bars of our friends here in Indy, but our basement was serving as our eBay warehouse and shipping station. The turning point though was definitely acquiring the mural. Mural in hand, we knew we had to build a bar, as it was the perfect focal point for a back-bar and the ultimate conversation piece. It was the thing that finally tipped us over the fulcrum. We had also picked up other pieces over time like the Witco and the bar stools. We just cleared out the basement and starting going to town! The main room of the bar is about 15’ x 15’, so I think we made the best use of the space we could. We’re happy with the result and it turned out exactly as we envisioned it in our minds; can’t think of much we’d have done differently.
What is the story behind the name of your bar?
Matt- While building the bar, Ric charged me with naming it so that we could have a sign made. I struggled for a few months over coming up with some witty name that I could live with forever; the whatever ‘jungle’ or ‘cannibal/savage’ what-have-you. I finally decided just to name it after Ric and make it a play off of Trader Vic’s. We already had acquired a Trader Vic’s style mask carving, so Trader Ric’s became the obvious choice for me; an homage to my best-friend in life!
What is your favorite Tiki drink?
Matt- I’m addicted to Jet Pilots at the moment, but if I had to choose, it’d have to be the Pearl of Wisdom. It’s the best parts of my favorite drinks (the cold brew from a black magic, the gardenia & rum from a Pearl Diver, with the gin and passion fruit from a Saturn). WOW! I swear it’s the most balanced and clean drink I’ve ever had.
Ric- Mai-Tai ‘til I die! It is hard to deviate from a classic.
What is your favorite Tiki bar?
Ric- Of course the “Inferno Room”, but we enjoy traveling and enjoying other classic and new Tiki Bars. We have many more that we would like to visit.
Matt- We tend to most enjoy smaller, more intimate bars, like Bootlegger Tiki in Palm Springs, or Suffering Bastard in Sanford, FL. Our best experiences have been in these bars. There’s nothing like hitting them in the off-season and being able talk at length with the bartenders. We much prefer that to being lost in a large crowd, like say a busy night at Three-Dots in Chicago or whatever. The décor, lighting, and exotica are always dialed in too at these spots; at least when we’ve been there.
Outside of great drinks, what do you think are essential elements in creating the perfect Tiki environment?
Matt- The drink garnish. The flowers, swizzles, fans/umbrellas, straws, all of it!! I mean, of course all the other elements that lend to the escapism (décor, lighting, exotica) are a given, but the garnish is what seals the deal for me. It’s like the final thing, already being immersed in the sights & sounds, that sends the senses over the top. It makes people happy and that makes me happy.
Ric- Vintage décor like Witco, Frankl style rattan, and Tikis of course.
What does the future hold for you and your home tiki bar?
Matt- Real estate in our basement is limited, so I’ll have to think a while for creative ways to expand shelving for more mugs. I still need to trim out the baseboard with carved 4-x’s when I get the time and I want to keep honing in the lighting situation. We need to add some hanging lights for sure.
Ric- Many enjoyable evenings hosting with our friends!
Anything else you would like to add?
Matt- Shout out to the Bob Cripe University of Tiki-Carving for teaching me how to carve the trim and handrail we needed to finish the entry. And to all the Indy-Tiki folks that helped us, talked to us, or put up with us obsessing over this (for 18 months)! LOL
**Some quick notes on the mural: It was painted in 1945 and originally hung in the men’s bar at the historic Claypool Hotel in Indianapolis, which was sadly demolished in 1968. Our great friend Morgen obtained it at an auction in the early 00’s and was its steward until we acquired it from her. It’s a great conversation piece considering the rich history of the Claypool Hotel. Presidents such as Eisenhower stayed and spoke there. Even Jim Jones haunted the hotel in the early days of the Peoples Temple. LOL. We purposely placed the electrical outlets in the mural, as that is how it was when it was hanging in the hotel and already had cutouts for electrical boxes when we acquired it. We chose to honor the original placement of the outlets in it rather than restore it, as we didn’t want restoration work to cover the aged colors of the painting.
Should the ID in the title be IN?
Corrected.
Great article, Ric and Matt’s attention to detail on their bar area is phenomenal. There use of the space they had to work with was extremely efficient. We in the neighborhood enjoy it!